


The Feline Fiasco

by AKelaNakamura



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cats, College AU, F/M, Fluff, Happy as an actual cat, Nalu - Freeform, Natsu finds a cat, Raising a cat together, Takes it to Lucy, college shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 14:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9275048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKelaNakamura/pseuds/AKelaNakamura
Summary: Fairy Tail College AU! PROMPT: *We're co-parenting a kitten we found in the parking lot even though we can't have pets in the dorms.* Shenanigans and silly NaLu moments occur, alongside Happy. Two-shot, but gets random updates from time to time. Enjoy. If you've got any prompts, please review or PM me. I may write it. FLUFF ONLY. Will be considered always complete.





	1. The Blue Cat?

"Natsu, what the heck do you want?" Lucy hissed. The boy had been trying to get her attention for the last ten minutes of class. The class had only been going on for fifteen minutes! The boy fidgeted, his scarf pulled over his mouth. He kept looking around as if someone was going to come crashing into the room and attack him. To be fair, that had happened once—Natsu had pulled a prank on his roommate, Gray Fullbuster, and the man hadn't been happy about it. He had found Natsu's lecture hall, shouted that he was going to kill him, and proceeded to beat on Natsu in the middle of the lecture hall. Thankfully, class hadn't started yet and Gray had left before the Professor had arrived.

"This is your last class for the day, right?" He whispered holding his backpack like it contained explosives.

"Yes," Lucy asked cautiously. She didn't like this situation at all.

"Can I come to your dorm after this? I need to talk to you." Natsu was really freaking her out. He _never_ asked to come to her dorm. He just showed up. Sometimes she wasn't there, though, so she guessed he was just ensuring that she would be.

"Okay, yeah. Do you need help in a class?" Lucy couldn't help it. She tuned out the Professor—she was just going over last week's test, which Lucy had aced—and focused on Natsu. He was acting stranger than normal.

"No." He said, looking offended. He was dense, Lucy knew, but when he put his mind to it, he was actually quite smart. "Just need to ask you a favor. We'll talk in your dorm."

With that, the hyperactive boy slipped out of the room, Lucy staring at him in shock. Natsu rarely skipped class and he'd never walked out on one, except for when he was sick. The professor ignored Natsu's departure. Natsu had aced the test too. Lucy couldn't concentrate for the rest of class. Natsu was usually upfront about things. He never lied and he'd become a good friend of hers. Once class was finally over, Lucy booked it out the door. She'd never wanted to leave so fast. She waved at Levy, who looked surprised that Lucy hadn't stopped to talk. She left the school behind, smelling the crisp air that was drenched in autumn. The leaves had begun to change and some nights dipped dangerously close to freezing.

But for now, it was warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt, and winter seemed a long way off. Lucy speed walked the hundred or so yards to the Dorms, smiling briefly at Erza, Head of Security.

She found Natsu sitting in front of her door, still holding his backpack strangely. He jumped up when he saw her, and she unlocked the door, knowing he wouldn't say anything until they were in the room. Shutting the door behind her, Lucy ditched her backpack in her room and sat on the couch. She was lucky. Her dorm was fairly new, and thus, wasn't like college dorms of old. Each dorm room had its own bathroom. Most had their own kitchen and some had their own living room of sorts.

It was more like a small apartment than a cramped dorm room for which Lucy was grateful. Natsu sat on the couch and looked at Lucy with a serious, straight expression. He opened his bag, slowly, and reached inside.

And pulled out a blue kitten.

"Oh, Natsu no!" Lucy said, horrified. Animals were strictly forbidden. The only that was allowed was a fish, and really, what kind of a pet is a fish?

"I couldn't help it, Lucy!" Natsu protested. "He was in the parking lot, and was dodging cars! Look, he got into some of the paint near the construction! He made himself blue! We can't just leave him out there. Winter's coming and he's so small."

"Natsu, if Erza sees him, she'll take him away!" Lucy said. "And we might get kicked out of the Dorms! She's really strict. Do you remember what she did with those kids who had thought it was a bright idea to bring a dog into the dorms? They only got off with a warning because the Dorm director gave them a second chance."

Fairy Tail Community College was the best Community College in the state. The Dorm Director, Makarov, was rich and helped many poor kids get into the college. Mirajane was his assistant and his grandson, Laxus, worked at the school too. She wasn't quite sure what his job was, but he seemed to have authority over most of the Professors.

"Yeah I know!" Natsu said but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. "But I can't leave him, okay? He's just a little guy. I'm not gonna take him to the shelter." He said it before Lucy could say that option. "They won't take him. I looked some stuff up. The shelters around here are so over packed that some cats that come in as kittens die of old age in the shelters, waiting to be adopted. I can't let that happen to him. Besides, look at this guy."

Natsu held up the kitten. The kitten meowed, struggling against being up so high in the air. What was it about kittens, Lucy wondered, that made their movements seem so delicate and awkward at the same time? The kitten locked its dark green eyes on Lucy and mewed pathetically. It was only a ball of fluff and about three months old. She could tell that the cat had once been dark gray, but the bright blue color overrode it easily.

"If we get in trouble, I'm blaming you," Lucy said, finally defeated.

"You hear that buddy? You can stay!" Natsu's glee had him jumping up and spinning, the kitten letting out a loud, protesting meow. Lucy jumped up and snatched the cat from Natsu.

"Listen!" She said. "We have to be quiet! And he can only stay until we can get him to someone's house, okay? If Erza or Bisca find him, we're dead!"

"I know, I know. I'll ask around, see if anyone can't take him home." Natsu's eyes lingered on the cat, who was resting comfortably in Lucy's arms. She could see that he'd fallen for the cat already.

"Natsu…" She hesitated. "Can you take him home? I mean…you're kinda attached to him."

"Maybe." Natsu brightened a bit. "I'd have to ask my dad. He, well, it'd be awhile until he could come up and get him. I live two hours away from here."

"Thanksgiving break's in a month," Lucy said. "you'll go home then, right?"

"Yeah." Natsu grinned at the cat. "But can we hide him for that long?"

"Probably not. We'll have to ask someone who lives closer to hold on to him until you can go home…but who?"

"This'll be easier." Natsu seemed confident. "Someone will take care of this little dude for a few weeks, knowing they won't have the responsibility for the rest of his life."

"True." Lucy knew that college students didn't like any more responsibility than what they already had. Besides, most parents didn't want any more pets or simply couldn't afford it on top of college bills.

"'Kay, well I'm going to the store. Back in a bit!" Natsu ran out the door, leaving Lucy with a blue kitten.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Lucy asked the cat.

The cat didn't answer. He was fast asleep.

It wasn't a week later that disaster threatened.

Room checks! How could she have forgotten! She had a litter box and cat bowls! Room checks were in an hour. Her roommates—Levy, Juvia, and Laki—had taken to the kitten quickly, helping Lucy keep it hidden from guests and smuggling in food. But Laki was at a night class, Levy was in the library, and Juvia was studying with her boyfriend, Gray.

What was she going to do? Erza was a drill sergeant when it came to room checks! She made the occupants stand in the living room while she and an assistant checked the rest of the dorm. She stared down at the kitten. What. To. Do?!

There was a tap on her window. Startled, Lucy stifled a scream. Natsu was there, grinning. He held up a cat carrier. Lucy unlocked the window and threw it open at the speed of light.

"Quick put him in here. He'll hide in my car until this is over." Lucy didn't question him. She grabbed Happy—Natsu had named him—and placed him in the carrier. Natsu hopped into her room—through the window—and grabbed Happy's bowls and his tiny, makeshift litter box. He placed them in a laundry basket and along with the cat carrier, he placed a blanket over it and grinned at Lucy.

"Gray's an idiot," Natsu said. "but his ideas aren't half bad." Gray had known about the cat from day one. He'd helped Natsu catch it.

"Well, thank him for me. I was freaking out. Here, take his food too. There's nothing else here to give him away." Lucy said, having shot down Natsu's idea of getting Happy some toys. They would make too much noise and draw unwanted attention to the dorm.

The room check went without a hitch, and Happy was returned to the dorm after Erza had finished up the first floor. Natsu lived on the second floor, so Erza didn't even know he'd been his car for the last hour, playing with a kitten.

Disaster almost struck again two days later, when Bisca, the RA, came to hand out event flyers.

She'd been chatting Lucy up when Happy had barreled into the hallway and straight into Laki and Juvia's room. Bisca had stared and started to say something, but Alzack, her boyfriend, had distracted her by walking up and giving her an unannounced kiss. He'd then proclaimed that he was going to help her pass out flyers and had dragged her away from Lucy's dorm, winking at Lucy as he did so.

She had sent him heartfelt thanks later that night. It turned out the Natsu had many people on his side, helping him keep the cat under wraps.

The day of break finally came—much to Lucy relief; it was stressful hiding a cat for so long. No one had been able to take him. Lucy was beginning to think that Natsu simply didn't want to take the chance of someone falling for the cat and not giving him back. She'd packed up all of Happy's things and was surprised to find that she was going to miss the little ball of energy. He was just so cute! She'd given him a bath, but the blue paint still stained his coat.

Natsu knocked on her door, and she set Happy down on the couch.

"Hey, Luce!" He grinned. Somewhere along the way, he'd started calling her 'Luce.'

"Hey, Natsie." She grinned back. And, somewhere along the way, I started calling him Natsie she thought. It had become common for him to pop in daily, sometimes for hours, just to see Happy. One of Natsu's roommates was allergic to cats—was it Loke?—so Happy couldn't stay there.

"My dad'll be here in an hour to pick up Happy," Natsu said, strolling past her to come in.

"Who's Happy?" A voice asked. Both of them froze.

Erza Scarlet, Head of Security, stood in the hall, her head cocked in confusion. "There's no student here called Happy."

Happy chose that moment to walk into sight, meowing at Natsu. Erza's eyes locked onto the cat.

"Natsu." She said. The boy cringed. "Lucy." She felt the blood draining from her head. "Why didn't you tell me you rescued that poor kitten from the parking lot!"

"W-what?" Lucy said, staring at an equally shocked and confused Natsu. Erza walked in and picked up Happy.

"Oh, I was so worried about this little guy!" Erza exclaimed. "When I stopped seeing him in the parking lot, I thought the worst had happened."

"We-we're not in trouble?" Lucy squeaked out.

"No." Erza smiled. "You rescued a defenseless creature. Pets may be against the rules, but saving them isn't. The boys that brought the dog in didn't save him. I assume you've been keeping him until you can find him a home?"

"Y-yeah." Natsu had finally found his voice. "My dad's coming in an hour, he's coming home with me. His name's Happy."

"Ah." Erza touched her nose to the kittens. "He's so cute. I'm glad he's going home soon, that way I don't have to report him. Take him out quietly, and do not mention this to anyone."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Lucy assured.

The hour passed quickly. Erza left, winking as she did, and Lucy and Natsu hid Happy in a laundry basket again. They carried him and more of Natsu's things right out the front door, straight past Security. Still, Natsu and Lucy didn't relax until they started putting stuff into Igneel's car. Happy, in his carrier, was placed on the front seat. Igneel smiled at Lucy.

"Thanks for helping my son." He said. Lucy stared. His hair was dark pink, leaning more towards red, and his smile—it was Natsu's smile. Or, she thought, Natsu had his father's smile. Igneel's face was lined with age, but it only added character. It was strange; it was like looking at a future Natsu, a Natsu in twenty or so years.

It wasn't a bad thought.

"You're welcome." She said. Igneel climbed into his car, after giving Natsu a look Lucy couldn't interpret. Natsu grinned and nodded at his father.

"See you-," Lucy was cut off by Natsu's lips on hers. He—he was so _warm._ The air was chilly, and she'd been close to shivering. Natsu filled her with warmth. He pulled back, and before she could think, she grabbed his ever-present scarf and yanked him back to her. One hand stayed on his scarf, the other buried itself in his glorious hair. Hair that he had let grow out, which gave her an excellent grip. She stepped into him, and after a moment he wrapped his arms around her. Pulling back, she grinned at his expression.

"See you after the break."

With that, she turned and started to walk back to the Dorms. She looked back and gave Igneel a wave. He was grinning gleefully, mischief a light in his eyes. Natsu was still standing on the sidewalk, staring at her. Laughing, she turned back to the dorm.

Maybe this winter wouldn't be so cold.


	2. Snow Days, Forts, and Rude Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA The One Where Natsu and Lucy Make a Blanket Fort and More Shenanigans Ensue.

She was wrong. Winter was just as freaking cold despite the fact that she and Natsu were spending winter break together. Winter had hit hard. One area of town was in a state of emergency—seven feet of snow had buried the residents. People were rushing to the store, grabbing up toilet paper and bread.

Natsu and Lucy were alone, save for Happy. Igneel, Natsu's awesome, not-to-be-trusted-with-whip-cream father, had gotten stuck at work. A snowstorm had blown in, and now they were snuggled on the couch, watching bad horror movies because neither Natsu nor Lucy were into sappy Christmas movies.

Besides, Igneel and Natsu had a huge collection of bad horror movies. They were watching _Psycho_. They liked picking on the effects, and the character's bad decisions. They'd been dating since Thanksgiving break, a fact that continued to amaze Lucy. She knew that it may have never happened if Natsu hadn't caught a kitten and made her keep it in her dorm.

Speaking of…

Happy, still blue despite their best efforts, decided to invade their blanket fort. They'd dragged every blanket out of every closet, every stool, every chair and even some rope to make the biggest, roomiest, most amazing blanket fort Lucy had ever had the pleasure of being in. They were watching _Psycho_ on the living room TV, which they'd completely buried and interred into their fort.

Jumping onto the TV's stand, Happy flicked his bright tail in front of the screen, looking straight at Natsu.

"Happy!" Natsu complained. "Come on, that chick was _so_ gonna get killed!" Happy simply sat, blocking most of the screen, and began to clean himself. Lucy giggled; she swore the cat was sick of being ignored, and simply wanted attention. Wiggling out from under her blankets, she plucked Happy off the TV stand and brought him over to their cocoon of blankets they'd deemed too soft and warm to use for the fort itself. Content, the cat curled between them, purring loudly.

Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Cuddle whore," He accused, and Happy swatted at his shoulder, causing Lucy to burst out laughing. None of them were watching the screen, and no one seemed to care when a dramatic scream sounded. Lucy picked up a piece of string—from one of the many blankets no doubt—and began to play with the lithe cat. He was still a kitten, technically, but he'd grown a lot since Thanksgiving Break. Lucy smiled as she remembered how much trouble it was for her and Igneel to tell Natsu that he _could not_ keep Happy in the dorms again, and _no he couldn't come visit._ Natsu had pouted the whole first week back, causing Gray to dump the moping boy in Lucy's dorm, claiming that he didn't want to deal with a whining pink haired freak.

Natsu had gotten Gray back by drawing on all of Gray's underwear. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but Gray had a habit of forgetting that he wasn't wearing anything other than his underwear and walking around the dorm building with little Happy doodles on his ass. And as the door to Natsu's dorm room was almost always propped open due to the near constant stream of people coming in and out, Lucy had walked in on Gray and others in very little clothing.

She'd gotten used to it after a few times, though, and vehemently denied screaming the first time it had happened.

Life with Natsu would never be normal, and Lucy wouldn't want it to be.

Now, though, winter break was welcome. No tests or morning classes. The snowstorm rather sucked but nestled in their fort, it didn't seem real. It was nice to sleep in, and being able to spend more one-on-one time with Natsu was nice. Happy yowled loudly, swatting at her hand, she'd zoned out on the TV and had stopped wiggling the string.

Well, one-on-one plus a cat, Lucy amended.

 _Psycho_ ended, and Lucy couldn't remember being scared or feeling suspense throughout it, though to be fair, she hadn't paid much attention. Natsu put one of the _Screams_ in and they started a poke war during the opening credits. They didn't pay much attention to this movie either, it was just background noise, and only gathered an occasional comment.

"So," Natsu was trying hard not to laugh. "We're at Uncle Metallicana's house, and Gajeel and I are-" The movie cut out, and the lights shut off, leaving them in darkness.

Neither Lucy nor Natsu made a sound, Happy was silent as well.

"Well," Natsu finally said. "That sucks."

"Do you have candles? Or flashlights?" Lucy asked.

"Candles?" Natsu sounded incredulous. "Oh, that's right, you don't know. Well, a story for a different time, but let's just say the Dragneels and fire are not a good combination."

"That's reassuring," Lucy said dryly.

"Relax, we have flashlights…somewhere." He muttered the last word, shoving the blanket cocoon off him, burying Happy and Lucy in the process. Happy protested loudly—the cat didn't seem to do anything quietly—and Lucy's protest was muffled by blanket fibers in her mouth. "Luce?"

"I'm fine," She said unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Just buried under a mountain of blankets." She managed to find her way out, after fighting with them, much to Natsu's amusement. She glared at him, or where she thought he was, and her scowl deepened when she realized he couldn't see her. "Your cat's under there you know."

"HAPPY!" Natsu attacked the pile of blankets. "I'll save ya, buddy!"

"Oh sure, save the cat." She muttered, trying to find her way out from under the fort. All light was blocked off. Night had long since fallen, and she'd lost track of time. Last she'd checked—three movies ago? Four?—it had been nine at night. Now, it may very well be three A.M.

Why did the lights always go out at three A.M.?

Luc finally made it out of the blanket fort, somehow managing to avoid knocking the whole thing over. It was a bit easier to see without the blankets blocking the moon's light. She was glad to see it had stopped snowing. A little moonlight allowed her to navigate into the kitchen, where she searched for the junk drawer every kitchen had. She found a small flashlight, but its beam was weak.

"Natsu, I found one, but it's dying," Lucy called, hoping he'd know where more were, or at least where some batteries might be at. She didn't hear anything and continued searching for more lights or batteries. "Natsu? Where would the batteries be? Natsu?"

Suddenly, arms grabbed her from behind, and she jumped, stifling a scream.

"Natsu! You _jerk_!" She slapped his arm as he broke into a fit of laughter.

"Sorry," He didn't sound sorry. "Couldn't resist."

"I should've expected it, honestly." She said shaking her head. "So, flashlights?" He bent down and picked something up from the floor, a button clicked and she blinked as a bright light filled the room. It was a large flashlight, shooting a wide beam around the room.

"You know," He scratched his head. "Igneel's usually here for these things, so I'm not quite sure what to do…"

"I think you're supposed to call the electric company and ask when the power might be turned on," Lucy said, and she looked at the fridge. "We don't have to worry about the food, if it starts to get warm, we can stick in a snowbank."

"Snow's good for something at least," He muttered. She'd discovered that Natsu considered winter to be his natural enemy. Just the sight of snow made him pull his scarf over his mouth and pout. Natsu was summer, and he liked doing his own thing outside. Snow was not fun for him, though Lucy was hell bent on trying to get him to try to appreciate it. They had plans to go Snow Mobiling with Gray in a couple days. Apparently, Gray was the king of winter sports. "I don't know the electric company's number."

"Would Igneel still be up?" Lucy asked wishing she hadn't neglected to charge her phone when it had died earlier. Natsu pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen.

"It's three thirty," He said and then shrugged. "I'll text the old man. If he ain't up it's not a big deal. We'll just go to sleep, and deal with this in the morning."

Lucy rather liked that plan. The late hour was starting to get to her.

"Come on, let's go back to the fort, it'll be warmest there," Natsu said sounding pleased that he got to sleep in it. Sometimes, he was more a child than a college student. Lucy would be lying, however, if the idea of sleeping in the giant blanket fort didn't sound appealing.

Laughing, they raced each other to the fort, smacking into things and laughing all the harder. They used the flashlight to separate the blankets and make their own blanket cocoons. Happy watched with glowing eyes, freaking Lucy out whenever she glanced over at him. He stayed just out of the light; only his luminescent green eyes gave his position away. She felt he was doing it on purpose. Once they were settled, they talked and laughed more, waiting for a text from Igneel.

None came.

Eventually, conversation faded out, and they both dropped into sleep, their hands loosely clasped.

"Lucy!" Igneel called as he smacked the snow off his boots. "Natsu!" It was noon, the sun was bright overhead, and the roads had finally cleared enough for Igneel to squeeze through the snowdrifts and find his way home. He hated winter. Snow had no business existing in his opinion. Igneel, unlike most parents, didn't worry when he didn't receive a response. He trusted both of the kids and knew they wouldn't do anything stupid.

Well…

Okay, so Natsu did stupid crap, but Igneel knew he didn't have to worry about his son when it came to girls. Besides, Lucy wouldn't let Natsu get away with anything even if Natsu had been so inclined.

Feeling mischievous, he quietly took off his boots and closed the front door gently—his son had crazy good hearing. He walked through the kitchen and stopped dead when he came face to face with a wall of blankets.

The blanket fort took up the entire living room and looked tall enough to stand up in in some parts. Igneel scanned the blankets and realized he didn't even remember owning some of them. Those two must have dragged every blanket out from every corner of the house—was that rope holding some of the fort up?

He had to give the kids credit; they didn't half-ass this fort. He reevaluated, and then set to work.

Ten minutes later, he turned the stereo up to blast, not knowing the power had gone out during the night had and had returned not long before he'd walked in the door. Music slammed out of the speakers that were placed strategically around the house. Happy, a blue flash of fluffed up, pissed off cat, shot out from under the fort, seeking to escape the noise.

Igneel barely heard the exasperated ' _Daaddddd'_ from under the fort.

Then, Igneel grinned as he pulled a rope, causing a domino effect on all the support points of the fort, causing it to collapse.

"DAD!" Natsu shouted, buried in what was once a great fort. Igneel's laughed rivaled the music, and he turned the music down a bit.

"The hell?" He heard Lucy say, she sounded sleepy still.

"Come on dad!" Natsu was laughing, though he tried to sound mad. "That took an hour and a half to make!" Natsu's pink head finally popped up, and Lucy's tangled hair popped up not too far from him.

"So we'll make a new one!" Igneel said grinning. Natsu grinned back, and as always it filled Igneel with pride and love to see his own grin plastered on Natsu's unique face.

"That'll be fun," Lucy said smiling sleepily.

"Yeah, but after breakfast!" Igneel said. "I'm starved."

"Aye!" Both boys charged for the kitchen, Natsu jumping over the couch, tackling his father as they both fought to get to the kitchen first. Lucy rolled her eyes and made her way into the kitchen, stepping over the writhing mass that was father and son wrestling.

She started pulling out pots and pans, searching the freezer for things that had thawed during the night and needed to be cooked.

An hour later, Natsu claimed he'd won and had gotten to the kitchen first, saying that Lucy 'cheated.' They devoured the breakfast they'd all made somehow without destroying the kitchen.

They spent the next hour fixing the fort, laughing and arguing all the while.

Lucy decided she'd never felt more at home before as father and son once again wrecked the baby fort, forcing them to start over again.

Happy brushed against her legs as if agreeing.

What more could she want?


End file.
